Maestro

Maestro is a television broadcaster headquartered in Georgia. The organisation operates within the media sector, providing broadcast television services to audiences within the country. Its operations place it among the key entities in Georgia's media landscape, a position that became a focal point during a significant cyber incident in late October 2019. On that date, Maestro, alongside other broadcasters like Imedi, was directly targeted in a coordinated cyber attack that resulted in the temporary disruption of its television operations. This incident underscores its role as a notable media outlet within the national infrastructure, as its services were specifically selected for disruption by the attackers.

The attack on Maestro was part of a larger, multi-target operation that also affected a major Georgian web hosting provider and consequently defaced or took offline approximately 15,000 websites. These websites included government portals, court systems, and the official page of the Georgian president. The attackers replaced content with images of a former Georgian president and the message "I'll be back." While critical national infrastructure was reported as unaffected, the scale of the operation against media and web hosting entities suggested a high degree of coordination. The incident highlighted vulnerabilities in digital systems supporting Georgian media and government communications. Investigations into the attack's sponsorship were ongoing, with experts noting the operation's characteristics potentially indicated state involvement, though formal attribution was not confirmed. Maestro's experience as a direct victim of this broadcast disruption situates it within a documented event concerning the security of Georgia's information space.